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Bill worries abortion rights activists

A law under consideration in South Dakota would move to expand the definition of justifiable homicide to include those who kill to prevent harm to a fetus — a piece of legislation abortion rights advocates say would make it legal to kill doctors who perform abortions.

But the bill’s sponsor, Republican state Rep. Phil Jensen, says all the legislation does is bring consistency to existing South Dakota codes that allow the state to prosecute crimes that result in the death of unborn children and would not justify the killing of abortion doctors.

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POLITICO 44

“There is an amendment being discussed today about the doctor issue but no, it would not make it OK to kill these doctors. It simply doesn’t fly” Jensen told POLITICO. “These codes deal with illegal acts, and abortion is a legal act.”

The bill — which was approved in committee and faces a floor vote soon — adds language to the state’s definition of justifiable homicide by adding that killing is permitted if the person is “resisting any attempt to murder such person, or to harm the unborn child of such person in a manner and to a degree likely to result in the death of the unborn child.”

It also adds that a woman’s family, including father, mother or spouse could justifiably kill anyone who attempted to harm the unborn child. This language, abortion rights advocates say, gives the green light for a woman’s family to kill an abortion provider even if the woman wanted the procedure performed.

“South Dakota lawmakers have the moral obligation to protect reproductive-health care professionals who are providing legal medical services to women," said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. "We call upon the bill's sponsor to insert language that explicitly protects abortion providers from violence."

South Dakota has one of the most restrictive laws on abortion in the United States, but attempts to impose an outright ban on the procedure have not succeeded.

South Dakota is planning to make 'execution by anyone' a legitimate means of solving a family dispute, a political dispute or an ethical dispute. Allowing anyone with a point of view and an attitude to commit 'Justifiable Homicide' is just crazy. There is no other word for it.

South Dakota is planning to make 'execution by anyone' a legitimate means of solving a family dispute, a political dispute or an ethical dispute. Allowing anyone with a point of view and an attitude to commit 'Justifiable Homicide' is just crazy. There is no other word for it.

South Dakota is planning to make 'execution by anyone' a legitimate means of solving a family dispute, a political dispute or an ethical dispute. Allowing anyone with a point of view and an attitude to commit 'Justifiable Homicide' is just crazy. There is no other word for it.

Pregnant wife or girlfriend gets ticked at husband/boyfriend/mom/dad/etc.....claims abuse toward her/fetus and wham! Oh, judge it was justifiable they were trying to kill my baby. Women could even purposely cause miscarriage then blame and kill someone for it. Amazing! The scenarios for "justifiable murder" are endless.

If, as they claim, the law is only to apply to cases of lethal force against someone perpetrating a criminal act, then current laws are sufficient. Say someone is attacking a pregnant woman with the intent to kill her fetus. The attacker is therefore committing assault on the woman, maybe to the point of attempted murder of the woman. In this scenario, the woman can use self-defense, or someone else can come to her aid, and neither would likely be found guilty of murder if they had to use lethal force to end the assault.

The only reason for this proposal is to strike fear into abortion providers and terrorize them to leave the state. It also gives a wink and a nod to people who already think killing abortion providers is justified.

I say if you kill a doctor for performing a LEGAL abortion, then you spend life in prison, or face the death penalty. Enough said

Okay, but in exchange, anyone who savagely butchers her own child because, being an irresponsible little tramp, she simply finds having a baby too inconvenient, must have a pair of scissors puncture the back of her head where it meets her neck and have the contents vacuumed out. Or she can be sprayed with saline solution so that she burns alive.

I wonder how many fetuses were killed along with all the other innocents in the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/et. al. immoral and unjust (as well as unjustifiable), Iraq War? But hey, to the Right those babies don't matter, do they.

Hey, Party-of-No do you think you "know" how an abortion affects "every" woman afterward? Do you "know" how every women who has been forced to bring a child to term is affected? No? Are you prepared to take in and care for a female (medical, house, clothe, feed) while she is pregnant? How many of the babies are you prepared to take and raise.

And.....No Matter how hard you squeeze your eyes shut, or how much cotton you stuff in your ears, it doesn't change the fact that there is already a law that prohibits federal funds for abortion.

Also, Planned Parenthood and Community Health Centers are the only places some females have that they can go for information, family planning, and health services. But the Right wants to take these avenues of care away.

And please explain to me why in the world they feel that cutting money for the WIC Program is a worthwhile goal.

I guess the pro-lifers are here to tell the babies..."O.K. we got you here, now it's time for you to pull yourself up by your bootie straps."

Also, Planned Parenthood and Community Health Centers are the only places some females have that they can go for information, family planning, and health services. But the Right wants to take these avenues of care away.

And please explain to me why in the world they feel that cutting money for the WIC Program is a worthwhile goal.

I won't be saddened to see Planned Parenthood go down the road as they advocate a position more than educate as advertised. Why the WIC program is a good question but then the republicans have sought the support of all hands on board and overboard. Just have to pressure your reps to comb through this stuff.

Many Americans claim to believe abortion is the same thing as murder. Their refusal to stop it by violence suggests to me they know it isn't. See Holy Prepuce!'s article "Why Aren't There More Scott Roeders" for why most people won't kill abortion providers, even if South Dakota makes it legal.

Many Americans believe, that abortion, other than on demand, is a medical procedure that is between the patient and doctor, and possibly their God. For the most part the same people that are protesting in whatever matter are ones that would take up arms if you were to come into their house and tell them how to raise their children, even if there was merit. I would suggest the sanctity of ones personal rights and freedoms, are interputted by some as THEIR definition of personal rights and freedoms. To come in and stand between a doctor and patient, is to be able to enter a doctors office and suggest treatment for cancer, or for any number of terminal diseases that these people feel morally obligated to override the doctors opinion on. Not very much freedom or liberty going on there.